Acculturative Stress Among Female Saudi College Students in the United States

Despite their increasing numbers, Saudi Arabian international students in the United States have been the focus of few research studies. We examined acculturative stress among 84 female Saudi Arabian students enrolled in US colleges and universities in the vicinity of Washington, DC. Most participants experienced low levels of depression and anxiety, as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory–II (BDI-II) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Furthermore, smooth acculturation in the United States was strongly related to respondents’ confidence in their English-language competence. Interestingly, English-language proficiency and other sociodemographic variables (e.g., marital status, religiosity) were not related to psychological stress, as measured by the BAI and BDI-II. In contrast, the study found a statistically significant relationship between cultural mistrust and respondents’ psychological stress. We conclude that initiatives sponsoring international student-study in the United States and host universities should provide incoming international students with enhanced support for developing English-language proficiency, as well as a more expansive toolkit for cultural understanding.